Shopping Center Needs a Face-Lift

I read Michele Greene’s recollection of the old Town and Country shopping center, but it wasn’t the same as mine (“The Other Side of the Grove,” Aug. 10). As a child growing up in the 1950s, I remember Town and Country as a beautiful wooden structure with hanging baskets full of colorful fuchsias that complemented the architecture. The shops were varied and charming, and with the beloved Farmers Market across the street, 3rd Street was a special place.

As the 1950s ended, however, so did the beauty of the Town and Country marketplace. The property was turned over to architects who destroyed all of its charm. What we see today is a rather large and nondescript strip mall with about as much charm as, well, a strip mall. Maybe someday Town and Country will be restored to resemble its former self and reclaim its original beauty.

Frances Terrell Lippman

Los Angeles

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I grew up in Park La Brea on Alandele Avenue. I watched movies at the Gilmore Drive-in Theater with my parents and my Raggedy Ann doll. I watched Aron Celnik, now manager of Andre’s Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria, grow up behind the counter while I was weaned on Andre’s mushroom sauce and salad dressing. I attended grammar school with Andre’s son. I bought my first Los Angeles Times as a young student from Perry, the newspaper vendor. Just last week I went to Andre’s. Thomas Wolfe said you can’t go home again--I do so about twice a week.

Linda Harris

Via the Internet